Opera Limited announces second quarter 2019 financial results


  • Revenue of $61.7 million, year-over-year growth significantly accelerating to 55%; exceeding the top end of Opera’s guidance range
  • Strong user growth, with monthly active users averaging 227 million for smartphone (up 24% YoY) and 65 million for PC (up 14% YoY)
  • Opera News users grew 61% to over 163 million monthly active users year-over-year; dedicated news app increased to 37 million monthly active users and identified by Sensor Tower as global top downloaded news app in Q2
  • Advertising and search growth rates accelerated year-over-year, supported by the successful launch of our Opera Ads platform
  • Opera’s microlending business continued to exceed expectations, now at an annualized revenue run-rate exceeding $45 million; upside driven by successful continued growth in Kenya and expansion to India
  • Other highlights include the launch of OList, a new Opera classifieds offering, and expanding the total addressable market for the Opera Ads platform through targeting small and medium sized enterprises
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $3.1 million, within our $2 - 5 million guidance range and including additional investments in future growth
  • Raising 2019 revenue guidance range to $270 - $290 million, representing 63% growth at the midpoint versus 2018

OSLO, Norway, Aug. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opera Limited (Nasdaq: OPRA) (“Opera”), one of the world’s leading browser providers and an influential player in the field of content platforms, today announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

Second quarter 2019 financial highlights

  Second quarter  Year-
over-

year %
  First half  Year-
over-

year %
 
[US$ thousands, except for margins and per ADS amounts] 2018  2019  change  2018  2019  change 
Revenue  39,828   61,725   55.0%  79,274   111,568   40.7%
                         
Net income (loss)  7,411   3,422   -53.8%  14,030   7,803   -44.4%
Margin  18.6%  5.5%      17.7%  7.0%    
                         
Adjusted EBITDA (1)  16,175   3,053   -81.1%  31,788   12,657   -60.2%
Margin  40.6%  4.9%      40.1%  11.3%    
                         
Adjusted net income (1)  10,783   5,859   -45.7%  20,653   12,609   -38.9%
Margin  27.1%  9.5%      26.1%  11.3%    
                         
Diluted net income per ADS, US$  0.075   0.030   -59.4%  0.143   0.070   -51.0%
                         
Diluted adjusted net income per ADS, US$ (1)  0.110   0.052   -52.6%  0.211   0.112
   -46.9%

(1) Please see the separate section "About non-IFRS financial measures" for the definitions of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income.

Frode Jacobsen, Opera’s CFO, said, “We are very pleased with our strong second quarter results and continued execution. Year-over-year, our revenue growth accelerated to 55%, and we saw a continued strong user growth. The investments we’re making in our business are accelerating our growth trajectory and we are becoming even stronger in Africa and other emerging markets across multiple dimensions, including our leading browser, the rapidly growing Opera News content platform, and our fintech offerings.

“Our strong Q2 revenue is supported by increased year-over-year growth of both advertising and search revenues, now at 18% and 8% respectively. Microlending revenue reached $11.6 million, representing an increase of $6.5 million from the prior quarter. This was fueled by continued growth in our initial market, Kenya, and launching our second market, India.

“In summary, our newer initiatives -- including Opera News, microlending and Opera Ads -- are already contributing significantly to our results, and we are approaching the inflection point of such new revenue streams exceeding our browser-based revenue.

“Our progress on existing initiatives, as well as new ones such as our classifieds launch in Nigeria, are setting us up for continued strong performance in the years to come. Beyond marketing, our 2019 investments also include additional cost of new and growing teams to support our ambitions.”

First half 2019 includes a prior period (first quarter) revenue adjustment of negative $1.4 million, following an internal review of estimates pertaining to certain revenues from the microlending business that Opera acquired in December 2018. The adjustment had an equal impact to pre-tax profit metrics, and a negative $1.0 million impact to post-tax profit metrics.

Second quarter 2019 user base and product highlights
(All comparisons are relative to the second quarter of 2018 unless otherwise stated)

  • Opera News average Monthly Active Users (“MAUs”) grew 61% to 163 million
  • The Opera News app, launched in January 2018, reached 37 million average MAUs, up 362% on year-over-year basis
  • Total smartphone average MAUs grew 24% to 227 million
  • PC average MAUs grew 14% to 65 million
  • Provided 1.8 million microloans in the quarter, up from 766 thousand in the first quarter

Lin Song, Opera’s COO, said, “We are pleased with our Q2 results as all of our key metrics are tracking in the right direction. We continue to grow users, utilize our scale to launch new products and further expand our market opportunity.

“Opera News continues to scale rapidly and we have ambitions to drive the user base well beyond current levels. This past quarter, Opera News grew 61% year-over-year to 163 million monthly active users and the news app increased over 3.5x year-over-year to 37 million MAUs. In fact, Sensor Tower recently identified Opera News as the top downloaded global news app in the second quarter. We also launched Opera Ads to monetize our large user base. Early results are promising, with revenue on our news app more than doubling versus the prior quarter, which supported the year-over-year growth acceleration of our advertising revenue.

“We also announced that we’re expanding Opera Ads beyond large advertisers to include a focus on small and medium sized enterprises. Specifically, we’ve launched a classifieds product called OList that will incorporate different verticals including used cars, real estate and jobs. This will enable us to meaningfully increase our total addressable advertising market in Africa and provide another reason for users to use Opera News or one of our browsers more frequently. The product recently launched in Nigeria and we look forward to updating you on its progress.

“Our microlending business continues to perform well ahead of our expectations. We expanded into India during the second quarter and are extremely pleased with our momentum. We more than doubled our scale from the first to the second quarter, and the business has continued to scale nicely thus far in the third quarter. Recently we also launched into Nigeria -- where OKash is partnering with OPay, the mobile wallet and consumer service company that Opera incubated. Through this partnership, OKash is integrated in the OPay app and this will introduce our product to users that are already using fintech services from OPay. On a separate note, OPay received $50 million in funding during the second quarter, including from Sequoia China, IDG, Source Code Capital, Meituan-Dianping, GSR, Zhenge and Opera.

“On the browser side, we continue to focus on product differentiation. During the quarter, we launched Opera GX, a PC web browser tailored for gamers. The new browser allows PC gamers to customize and tune their browser to improve their gaming experience. Early results are promising with user engagement indexing well above our typical averages. This, along with our continued privacy efforts, led to 14% year-over-year growth in PC users. Additionally, the growth in our smartphone browser base is fueled by our high-end mobile browser, Opera for Android, now representing 34% of our smartphone browser base compared to 24% in the second quarter of 2018.

“The progress we’ve made across multiple fronts this quarter is impressive. We continue to grow our user base and are at the early stages of improving monetization -- whether it is through advertising, classifieds, fintech or a future initiative. We believe the combination of more users, increased engagement and better monetization will lead to significant multi-year growth for Opera.”

Business outlook

Mr. Frode Jacobsen, Opera’s CFO, said, “In light of the success we achieved during the first half of 2019, and most notably the recent traction that has carried into the second half of the year, we are again raising our full-year revenue expectations. We now expect 63% revenue growth at the midpoint of our 2019 guidance. This view includes significant growth in our microlending business, well beyond earlier expectations, capturing a very strong launch in India and from continued scaling in Kenya as well as our launch in Nigeria. Additionally, we expect continued advertising growth, while we still consider our newest initiatives more relevant for 2020 than 2019, including OList and additional fintech efforts. Further, we are raising the lower end of our full year Adjusted EBITDA guidance due to the revenue upside, while also increasing our non-marketing investment levels underlying our growth initiatives.”

As a result, Opera expects full year and third quarter 2019 revenue and adjusted EBITDA to be in the following ranges:

Full Year:

  • Revenue of $270 - $290 million, or 57 - 68% year-over-year, an increase from our previous guidance of $230 - $240 million
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $35 - $45 million, which includes the previously disclosed incremental marketing investments as well as non-marketing investments in our new initiatives, and compares to prior guidance of $30 - $45 million

Third Quarter:

  • Revenue of $75 - $85 million, or 75 - 99% growth versus the third quarter of 2018. Fintech revenues and continued accelerated growth in advertising revenues are expected to be the most important growth drivers
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $8 - $12 million

Second quarter 2019 consolidated financial results

All comparisons in this section are relative to the second quarter of 2018 unless otherwise stated.

Revenue increased 55.0% to $61.7 million.

  • Search revenue increased 8.3% to $21.4 million, accelerating primarily due to search optimization and PC browser growth.
  • Advertising revenue increased 17.8% to $16.2 million, accelerating due to an increase in both smartphone and desktop users and the launch of Opera Ads
  • Fintech revenue was $11.6 million (no comparable 2018 revenue). This revenue showed sequential growth of 130.0% versus the prior quarter due to continued growth in Kenya and the launch in India.
  • Retail revenue was $7.6 million (no comparable 2018 revenue). This revenue showed sequential growth of 12.1% versus the prior quarter, representing a fluctuation as the category is expected to remain relatively stable in the near-term prior to potentially exploring a wider retail opportunity.
  • Technology licensing and other revenue was $4.9 million, representing a decrease of 22.1%. We continue to expect this revenue category to decline over time.

Operating expenses increased 119.6% to $64.5 million.

  • Cost of revenue was $10.1 million, compared to $1.4 million in the second quarter of 2018. Within the total, $7.7 million related to retail revenue, $1.8 million related to microlending and $0.6 million related to the browser and news business area.
  • Personnel expenses including share-based remuneration were $15.6 million, a 66.5% increase. This expense consists of cash-based compensation expense of $14.0 million, a 53.7% increase, driven primarily by increased headcount related to investee support, Opera News, Opera Ads, microlending and other growth initiatives, and $1.5 million of share-based remuneration expense.
  • Marketing and distribution expenses were $21.1 million, an increase of 169.0% following our previously announced efforts to further invest in accelerating our growth in 2019.
  • Credit loss expense was $5.8 million, of which $5.4 million related to our Fintech microlending business, compared to an overall gain of $0.1 million from accrual reversals in the second quarter of 2018.
  • Depreciation and amortization expenses were $4.3 million, a 26.7% increase. The increase is largely the result of the adoption of IFRS 16 on January 1, 2019.
  • Other expenses were $7.7 million, a 2.4% increase.

Operating loss was $2.8 million, representing an operating margin of negative 4.5%, compared to $10.5 million and a 26.3% margin. The decline was largely due to the increased investment in marketing and distribution activities in the quarter and increased headcount associated with our growth initiatives.

Share of net income of associates and joint ventures amounted to $4.0 million, including a non-cash gain from the increased OPay valuation in connection with the company’s funding round.

Income tax gain was $1.0 million, compared to an expense of $2.5 million in the second quarter of 2018.

Net income was $3.4 million, compared to $7.4 million in the second quarter of 2018.

Net income per ADS was $0.031 in the quarter, and $0.030 on a diluted basis. Adjusted net income per ADS was $0.053 in the quarter, and $0.052 on a diluted basis. Each ADS represents two shares in Opera Limited. In the quarter, the average number of shares outstanding was 220.6 million, corresponding to 110.3 million ADSs.

Adjusted EBITDA was $3.1 million, representing an 4.9% adjusted EBITDA margin, compared to $16.2 million in second quarter 2018. Adjusted EBITDA excludes share-based remuneration.

Adjusted Net Income was $5.9 million in the quarter, representing a 9.5% adjusted net margin compared to $10.8 million in second quarter 2018. Adjusted net income excludes share-based remuneration and amortization of intangible assets related to acquisitions (all of which relates to the Opera privatization in 2016). Adjusted net income further includes partially offsetting reversals of the tax impacts of the foregoing adjustments.

Conference call

Opera’s management team will host a conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time (2:00 PM Central European Time, 9:00 PM Beijing/Hong Kong time) on Thursday, August 22, 2019.

The dial-in details for the live conference call are:

United States: +1 (877) 506-7703
China: +86 400 682 8609
Hong Kong: +852 3011 4522
Norway: +47 2231 0524
United Kingdom: +44 (0)203 107 0289
International: +1 (786) 815-8450
Confirmation Code: 6995974

A live webcast of the conference call will be posted at https://investor.opera.com.

About non-IFRS financial measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented based on IFRS, we use adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, both non-IFRS financial measures, to understand and evaluate our core operating performance. These non-IFRS financial measures, which may differ from similarly titled measures used by other companies, are presented to enhance investors’ overall understanding of our financial performance and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS.

We define adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) excluding income tax expense (benefit), net finance expense (income), share of net loss (income) of associates and joint ventures, restructuring costs, depreciation and amortization, share-based remuneration and expensed costs related to our initial public offering, less other income.

We define adjusted net income as net income excluding share-based remuneration, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and expensed costs related to our initial public offering.

We believe that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results. These non-IFRS financial measures adjust for the impact of items that we do not consider indicative of the operational performance of our business. While we believe that these non-IFRS financial measures are useful in evaluating our business, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for the related financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS. Please refer to our financial statements at the end of this announcement for a table reconciling our non-IFRS financial measures to net income (loss), the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure.

Safe harbor statement

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements, including statements relating to the Company’s future financial and operating results, are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, management’s quotations and the Business outlook section contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about Opera and the industry. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to its goals and strategies; its expected development and launch, and market acceptance, of its products and services; its expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our brand, platforms and services; our expectations regarding growth in our user base and level of engagement; its ability to attract, retain and monetize users; its ability to continue to develop new technologies and/or upgrade our existing technologies and quarterly variations in its operating results caused by factors beyond its control and global macroeconomic conditions and its potential impact in the markets it has businesses. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof, and Opera undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although Opera believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by Opera is included in Opera’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F.

About Opera

Founded in 1995 in Norway, Opera delivers browsers and AI-driven digital content platforms to more than 350 million people worldwide. The company remains one of the most innovative browser creators in the world. Opera is listed on Nasdaq under the OPRA ticker symbol.

Investor Relations Contact:

Derrick Nueman
investor-relations@opera.com or (408) 596-3055

For media enquiries, please contact: press-team@opera.com


OPERA LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

  Three Months Ended June
30,
  Six Months Ended June 30, 
[US$ thousands, except per share and ADS
amounts]
 2018  2019  2018  2019 
Revenue  39,828   61,725   79,274   111,568 
                 
Operating expenses                
Cost of revenue  (1,401)  (10,087)  (2,079)  (17,883)
Personnel expenses including share-based remuneration  (9,356)  (15,581)  (20,466)  (26,685)
Marketing and distribution expenses  (7,838)  (21,084)  (15,176)  (35,770)
Credit loss expense  114   (5,776)  329   (7,633)
Depreciation and amortization  (3,379)  (4,281)  (6,766)  (8,423)
Other expenses  (7,500)  (7,677)  (14,871)  (13,909)
Total operating expenses  (29,359)  (64,486)  (59,029)  (110,303)
                 
Operating profit (loss)  10,469   (2,762)  20,245   1,265 
                 
Share of net income (loss) of associates and joint ventures  (615)  3,981   (1,624)  2,957 
                 
Net finance income (expense)                
Finance income  102   1,668   198   3,359 
Finance expense  (43)  (173)  (77)  (326)
Net foreign exchange gain (loss)  31   (309)  112   (154)
Net finance income (expense)  91   1,186   233   2,879 
                 
Net income (loss) before income taxes  9,945   2,406   18,854   7,100 
Income tax (expense) benefit  (2,535)  1,016   (4,824)  703 
Net income (loss)  7,411   3,422   14,030   7,803 
                 
Net income (loss) attributable to:                 
Equity holders of the parent  7,411   3,422   14,030   7,803 
Non-controlling interests  -   -   -   - 
Total net income (loss) attributed  7,411   3,422   14,030   7,803 
                 
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding                 
Basic, millions(1)  190.25   220.58   190.25   219.68 
Diluted, millions(2)  196.62   224.65   195.98   224.31 
                 
Net income (loss) per ordinary share                 
Basic, US$  0.039   0.016   0.074   0.036
 
Diluted, US$  0.038   0.015   0.072   0.035
 
                 
Net income (loss) per ADS                
Basic, US$  0.078   0.031   0.147   0.071
 
Diluted, US$  0.075   0.030   0.143   0.070
 

(1) Assuming 200 million shares in Opera Limited were outstanding for all periods presented prior to the Initial Public Offering (IPO), less 9.75 million shares that were surrendered by two shareholders upon completion of the IPO. As of June 30, 2019, the total number of shares outstanding for Opera Limited was 220,576,326, equivalent to 110,288,163 ADSs.

(2) Includes the net dilutive impact of employee equity awards, all of which are dilutive.


OPERA LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

  Three Months Ended June
30,
  Six Months Ended June 30, 
[US$ thousands] 2018  2019  2018  2019 
Net income (loss)  7,411   3,422   14,030   7,803 
                 
Other comprehensive income (loss) that may be reclassified to the Statement of Operations in subsequent periods (net of tax)                
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations  (1,500)  404   (1,096)  (96)
Reclassification of exchange differences on loss of control  (138)  (7)  (138)  (7)
Share of other comprehensive income (loss) of associates and joint ventures  -   -   -   (41)
Net other comprehensive income (loss) that may be reclassified to the Statement of Operations in subsequent periods  (1,638)  397   (1,234)  (144)
Total comprehensive income (loss)  5,773   3,820   12,796   7,659 
                 
Total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to:                
Equity holders of the parent  5,773   3,820   12,796   7,659 
Non-controlling interests  -   -   -   - 
Total comprehensive income (loss) attributed  5,773   3,820   12,796   7,659 
                 



OPERA LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

  As of December
31,
  As of June 30, 
[US$ thousands] 2018  2019 
ASSETS        
Non-current assets        
Furniture, fixtures and equipment  12,162   27,362 
Intangible assets  115,444   113,507 
Goodwill  421,578   421,578 
Investments in associates and joint ventures  35,060   44,290 
Other financial assets  2,025   2,727 
Deferred tax assets  944   676 
Total non-current assets  587,213   610,140 
         
Current assets         
Trade receivables  37,468   40,963 
Loans to customers  -   22,255 
Other receivables  7,123   3,901 
Prepayments  14,372   24,034 
Other financial assets  1,254   16,886 
Cash and cash equivalents  177,873   134,155 
Total current assets  238,090   242,194 
TOTAL ASSETS  825,303   852,333 
         
         
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES        
Equity         
Share capital  22   22 
Other paid in capital  738,690   732,910 
Retained earnings  36,432   46,538 
Foreign currency translation reserve  316   172 
Equity attributed to equity holders of the parent  775,460   779,642 
Non-controlling interests  -   - 
Total equity   775,460   779,642 
         
Non-current liabilities        
Lease liabilities and other loans  2,271   10,053 
Deferred tax liabilities  13,358   13,756 
Other non-current liabilities  212   197 
Total non-current liabilities   15,841   24,006 
         
Current liabilities        
Trade and other payables  17,957   32,174 
Lease liabilities and other loans  2,490   6,988 
Income tax payable  1,920   724 
Deferred revenue  1,932   1,218 
Other current liabilities  9,701   7,581 
Total current liabilities  34,002   48,685 
         
Total liabilities  49,843   72,692 
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES   825,303   852,333 
         



OPERA LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

[US$ thousands] Share
capital
(1)
  Other paid
in capital
(1)
  Retained
earnings
  Foreign
currency
translation
reserve
  Total equity  
As of December 31, 2017, as previously reported  19   576,512   5,366   1,605   583,503 
Impact of new accounting standards  -   -   (629)  -   (629)
As of January 1, 2018, restated  19   576,512   4,737   1,605   582,874 
Net income (loss)  -   -   14,030   -   14,030 
Other comprehensive income (loss)  -   -   -   (1,234)  (1,234)
Total comprehensive income (loss)  -   -   14,030   (1,234)  12,796 
Share-based remuneration expense  -   -   2,916   -   2,916 
As of June 30, 2018  19   576,512   21,683   372   598,585 
                     


[US$ thousands] Share
capital
(1)
  Other paid
in capital
(1)
  Retained
earnings
  Foreign
currency
translation
reserve
  Total equity  
As of December 31, 2018  22   738,690   36,432   316   775,460 
Impact of implementing IFRS 16 Leases  -   -   64   -   64 
As of January 1, 2019, restated  22   738,690   36,496   316   775,524 
Net income (loss)  -   -   7,803   -   7,803 
Other comprehensive income (loss)  -   -   -   (144)  (144)
Total comprehensive income (loss)  -   -   7,803   (144)  7,659 
Acquisition of treasury shares  -   (5,780)  -   -   (5,780)
Share-based remuneration expense  -   -   2,238   -   2,238 
As of June 30, 2019  22   732,910   46,538   172   779,642 
                     

(1) The amounts of share capital and other paid in capital have been amended by reclassifying amounts between the two equity components.


OPERA LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

  Three Months Ended
June 30,
  Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
[US$ thousands] 2018  2019  2018  2019 
Net cash flow from (used in) operating activities  10,756   (16,026)  14,893   (6,920)
Net cash flow from (used in) investing activities  (3,738)  (17,789)  (1,287)  (27,483)
Net cash flow from (used in) financing activities  (1,296)  (1,670)  (2,346)  (9,165)
                 
Net change in cash and cash equivalents   5,722   (35,485)  11,260   (43,568)
                 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period  39,300   169,846   33,207   177,873 
Net foreign exchange difference  (1,028)  (205)  (474)  (149)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period  43,993   134,155   43,993   134,155 
                 


Financial details by business area

The tables below specify the contribution by each business area:

[US$ thousands] Three months ended June 30, 2018 
Business area Browser
and News
  Fintech  Retail  Other  Total 
Revenue categories                    
Search  19,769   -   -   -   19,769 
Advertising  13,718   -   -   -   13,718 
Origination fees and interest  -   -   -   -   - 
Airtime and handsets  -   -   -   -   - 
Technology licensing and other revenue  -   -   -   6,342   6,342 
Total revenue  33,487   -   -   6,342   39,828 
                     
Cost of revenue  (1,401)  -   -   -   (1,401)
Marketing and distribution expenses  (7,838)  -   -   -   (7,838)
Credit loss expense  114   -   -   -   114 
Direct expenses  (9,125)  -   -   -   (9,125)
                     
Contribution by business area  24,362   -   -   6,342   30,704 
                     


[US$ thousands] Three months ended June 30, 2019 
Business area Browser
and News
  Fintech  Retail  Other  Total 
Revenue categories                    
Search  21,403   -   -   -   21,403 
Advertising  16,158   -   -   -   16,158 
Origination fees and interest  -   11,576   -   -   11,576 
Airtime and handsets  -   -   7,646   -   7,646 
Technology licensing and other revenue  -   -   -   4,943   4,943 
Total revenue  37,561   11,576   7,646   4,943   61,725 
                     
Cost of revenue  (648)  (1,783)  (7,656)  -   (10,087)
Marketing and distribution expenses  (20,724)  (360)  -   -   (21,084)
Credit loss expense  (413)  (5,364)  -   -   (5,777)
Direct expenses  (21,785)  (7,507)  (7,656)  -   (36,948)
                     
Contribution by business area  15,776   4,069   (10)  4,943   24,778 
                     


[US$ thousands] Six months ended June 30, 2018 
Business area Browser
and News
  Fintech  Retail  Other  Total 
Revenue categories                    
Search  39,985   -   -   -   39,985 
Advertising  26,634   -   -   -   26,634 
Origination fees and interest  -   -   -   -   - 
Airtime and handsets  -   -   -   -   - 
Technology licensing and other revenue  -   -   -   12,655   12,655 
Total revenue  66,619   -   -   12,655   79,274 
                     
Cost of revenue  (2,079)  -   -   -   (2,079)
Marketing and distribution expenses  (15,176)  -   -   -   (15,176)
Credit loss expense  329   -   -   -   329 
Direct expenses  (16,926)  -   -   -   (16,926)
                     
Contribution by business area  49,693   -   -   12,655   62,348 
                     


[US$ thousands] Six months ended June 30, 2019 
Business area Browser
and News
  Fintech  Retail  Other  Total 
Revenue categories                    
Search  41,987   -   -   -   41,987 
Advertising  30,300   -   -   -   30,300 
Origination fees and interest  -   16,608   -   -   16,608 
Airtime and handsets  -   -   14,465   -   14,465 
Technology licensing and other revenue  -   -   -   8,208   8,208 
Total revenue  72,287   16,608   14,465   8,208   111,568 
                     
Cost of revenue  (1,213)  (2,261)  (14,409)  -   (17,883)
Marketing and distribution expenses  (34,899)  (871)  -   -   (35,770)
Credit loss expense  (545)  (7,088)  -   -   (7,633)
Direct expenses  (36,657)  (10,220)  (14,409)  -   (61,286)
                     
Contribution by business area  35,630   6,388   56   8,208   50,282 
                     

The table below specifies the amounts of personnel expenses including share-based remuneration:

[US$ thousands] Three Months Ended
June 30,
  Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
Personnel expenses including share-based remuneration 2018  2019  2018  2019 
Personnel expenses excluding share-based remuneration  9,138   14,048   17,799   23,715 
Share-based remuneration, including related social security costs  218   1,533   2,667   2,970 
Total  9,356   15,581   20,466   26,685 
                 

Other expenses

The table below specifies the nature of other expenses:

[US$ thousands] Three Months Ended
June 30,
  Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
Other expenses 2018  2019  2018  2019 
Hosting  2,561   1,852   5,178   3,379 
Audit, legal and other advisory services  2,631   2,338   4,879   3,972 
Software license fees  399   860   891   1,564 
Rent and other office expense  1,214   1,249   2,336   2,373 
Travel  510   806   1,030   1,385 
Other  186   573   558   1,238 
Total  7,500   7,677   14,871   13,909 
                 


Non-IFRS financial measures

  Three Months Ended
June 30,
  Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
[US$ thousands, except per share and ADS amounts] 2018  2019  2018  2019 
Reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA                
Net income (loss)  7,411   3,422   14,030   7,803 
Add: Income tax expense (benefit)  2,535   (1,016)  4,824   (703)
Add: Net finance expense (income)  (91)  (1,186)  (233)  (2,879)
Add: Share of net loss (income) of associates and joint ventures  615   (3,981)  1,624   (2,957)
Add: Depreciation and amortization  3,379   4,281   6,766   8,423 
Add: Share-based remuneration  218   1,533   2,667   2,970 
Add: Expensed IPO-related costs  2,110   -   2,110   - 
Adjusted EBITDA  16,175   3,053   31,788   12,657 
                 
Reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted net income                
Net Income (loss)  7,411   3,422   14,030   7,803 
Add: Share-based remuneration  218   1,533   2,667   2,970 
Add: Amortization of acquired intangible assets  1,280   1,280   2,560   2,560 
Add: Expensed IPO-related costs  2,110   -   2,110   - 
Income tax adjustment (1)  (235)  (376)  (713)  (724)
Adjusted net income  10,783   5,859   20,653   12,609 
                 
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding                
Basic, millions  190.25   220.58   190.25   219.68 
Diluted, millions  196.62   224.65   195.98   224.31 
                 
Adjusted net income (loss) per ordinary share                
Basic, US$  0.057   0.027   0.109   0.057
 
Diluted, US$  0.055   0.026   0.105   0.056
 
                 
Adjusted net income (loss) per ADS                
Basic, US$  0.113   0.053   0.217   0.115
 
Diluted, US$  0.110   0.052   0.211   0.112
 

(1) Reversal of tax benefit related to the social security cost component of share-based remuneration, deferred taxes on the amortization of acquired intangible assets, and expensed IPO-related costs.